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10 August 2005Next week the Snowmass ILC Workshop will begin. More
than 600 participants have already signed up! Snowmass promises to be a very
exciting and productive two weeks for the ILC. The workshop will consist of both
the 2005 International Linear Collider Physics and Detector Workshop and the
Second ILC Accelerator Workshop. In addition, it will be the first time the
newly created GDE will be physically together; and therefore it represents our
kickoff meeting.

The Physics and Detector Workshop will be a regional American Linear Collider
Physics Group (ALCPG) Workshop with expanded World Wide Study (WWS)
participation. That workshop contains a set of panels: Physics Case panels; Two
Complementary Detectors Panel; Software Tools Panel; Benchmarks Panel; Costing
Panel; R&D Panel; Test Beam Panel; etc. Snowmass will represent a
significant step forward in interactions between the WWS and ILC communities.
Besides the large overlap for studies of the machine-detector interface, we hope
to stimulate far more extensive interactions, including a set of lunchtime
pedagogical talks on ILC-related accelerator physics..

A short statement sums up the GDE goals for the 2nd ILC Workshop and for the
rest of this calendar year: Define an ILC Baseline Configuration Document, to be
completed by the end of 2005, and an R&D plan.

The working groups at Snowmass will work toward agreement on the collider
design, develop paths to resolution of outstanding issues, make recommendations
and start documentation of the BCD, and identify critical R&D topics and
timescales. A dedicated working group on ILC communication will complete a
strategic plan for communicating the ILC to our colleagues and to the broader
community. Finally, a set of global groups will begin to consider overall design
considerations such as parameters and layout, reliability, cost engineering,
civil engineering and conventional facilities.

You might ask what we mean when we say we will create a "baseline
configuration." The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines these words as
follows:Baseline = a minimum or starting point used for comparisons.
Configuration = an arrangement of parts or elements in a particular form or
figure.

These definitions are as good as any that I might write for our application
of creating a set of agreed-to technologies and parameters for the ILC (a
baseline configuration) that we can use to create the reference design next
calendar year. My guideline to the working groups in creating the baseline is to
be as forward as possible, consistent with making decisions that will allow us
to create a robust baseline design next year that we will be able to reliably
cost.

Finally, the baseline we create will become the basis for developing the ILC
reference design. We fully expect that this will not be the final design, and
that the design will evolve as technology and our knowledge improve. We must
plan to pursue a vigorous R&D program in order to demonstrate performance,
industrialize the key technologies and develop technical alternatives that
promise to improve the performance or lower the cost of the machine. As we make
decisions to define the baseline, we also need to determine the priorities for
the accompanying R&D program.